View Canstruction® Rhode Island Sculptures at Providence Place

If you think your own LEGO creations are impressive, just wait to see what a few passionate local designers can do. On Saturday morning, March 31st, six teams of architects and construction professionals will participate in Canstruction® Rhode Island, a community service project that benefits the Rhode Island Community Food Bank. Using anywhere from 3,000 to 6,000 cans of food, the teams will build sculptures in the skybridge concourse at Providence Place.

From April 1st-10th, you may vote for the People’s Choice award on the Providence Place website. You may “Like” one of the sculptures that will be posted on Facebook, or you can e-mail your vote (along with your name and age). One of the voters will be randomly selected to win a $100 mall gift card, so you’ll definitely want to participate!

The sculptures will remain on display for two weeks until their “de-canstruction.” On April 14th, more than 20,000 canned goods will be delivered to the The Rhode Island Community Food Bank, which serves more than 60,000 people each month. Chief Executive Officer Andrew Schiff has said, “This impressive project serves as a reminder that the problem of hunger is close to home, affecting every community in Rhode Island.”

This is the fourth Canstruction®RI event, initiated by the American Institute of Architects, Rhode Island Chapter (AIAri) as part of the Society of Design Administration’s international Canstruction® community service project. Providence-based competitors include Dimeo Construction Co.; Vision 3 Architects; Durkee, Brown, Viveiros & Werenfels, Inc.; GTECH; Gilbane; Shawmut Construction Co.; Michael Warner Architect; and the Young Constructors Forum of the RI Associated General Contractors. Awards will be presented at a gala event on Thursday April 12th for categories including Jurors’ Favorite, Best Use of Labels, Structural Ingenuity, Best Meal, Honorable Mentions, and of course, the People’s Choice. Photos of the winning sculptures will be submitted for the international Canstruction® competition.

There are plenty of ways to get involved. Watch the Canstruction® in action, vote for your favorite, and help to solve the growing hunger epidemic by supporting the food bank in other ways.